Rail strike to hit London's financial district

LONDON: Staff on London's Docklands Light Railway (DRL) are to strike over pay and working conditions, a rail union said on Friday, adding to disruption already planned by maintenance staff on the Underground subway.

The DLR line carries commuters to and from the Canary Wharf financial sector in the east of the city. The DLR platform and station staff will walk out for three days starting Wednesday June 23, coinciding with a strike by maintenance workers at contractor Tube Lines on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly underground lines. The RMT union said operating company Serco had not offered adequate reward for the increased workload and responsibility of running an extra third carriage on trains.

"Our members on the Docklands Light Railway have shown once again that they will not be bullied by management in to taking on more work and more responsibility without being properly compensated by the company," RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said in a statement.

Staff voted by almost nine to one for industrial action last week, he added. Nobody was immediately available for comment from Serco or the capital's transport authority, Transport for London. On Thursday, the RMT announced that workers on Tubes Lines would carry out two 48-hour strikes over pay, jobs and working conditions.

The strikes, from Wednesday, June 23, and Wednesday, July 14, will likely have a knock-on effect on all the system, it added.